Final Knight
by SiFi270
Summary: The sight of Mike Haggar beating up criminals is certainly a familiar one. However, he has not been seen doing so whilst dressed as a bat. Not until now, anyway...
1. Chapter 1

If Mike Haggar were asked to name the best day of his life thus far, he would most likely have chosen the day his parents took him, at the age of eight, to see _Zorro_ in cinemas.

If asked to name the _worst_ day of his life, he would most likely have chosen the day his parents were mugged and killed shortly after taking him to see _Zorro_ in cinemas.

Metro City had a rather poor reputation when it came to law enforcement. As a matter of fact, it was worse than even Gotham in this regard. As such, quite a few children there were unfortunate enough to see their parents suffer the same fate as Haggar's. And usually, there was nothing they could do.

But Mike Haggar was different.

During adulthood, Mike spent ten years working as a professional wrestler and stopped when he became the mayor of Metro City. He thought the latter job would help him to keep crime under control, but this quickly proved to be easier said than done. It wasn't long before he realized he needed a more direct approach, but he still wasn't quite sure how to go about it.

The answer came crashing through his office window.

_A_ _bat__!_ he thought. _Lots_ _of_ _people_ _are_ _afraid_ _of_ _bats__._ _And_ _criminals_ _are_ _a_ _superstitious_ _and_ _cowardly_ _lot__._ _In_ _order_ _to_ _fight_ _injustice_ _in_ _Metro_ _City__,_ _I__'__ll_ _become_ _a_ _bat__!_

Immediately, he left the office and departed for parts unknown. Nobody in the building could say for certain where he was during the next few hours, but as soon as he'd returned, everyone could agree that he looked exhausted, but at the same time determined.

* * *

"Remind me why we're doing this." Bred frowned as he carefully placed explosives around the doorframe.

"Why not?" Dug laughed. "Don't tell me you're chickening out here!"

"Not at all." He insisted. "It's just... Robbing a bank... Doesn't it seem a little... I dunno, _small_, by Metro City standards? Not to mention _way_ too easy."

"And?" Dug tilted his head. "Look, we're not just doing this for money. We're doing it for a _shitload_ of money! Now get down!"

Bred rolled his eyes and did as instructed, his companion shortly following, and before either of them had time to cover their ears, a large portion of the building's front was demolished.

"The hell're you doing?" Bred scolded. "You're only supposed to blow the freakin' doors off!"

"Don't look at me," Dug shrugged, "I only pressed the button. You're the one who laid out the... You know what, forget it. Let's just get in there and..." He interrupted himself with a gasp as he heard something land behind them. The two turned around to see what it was, and immediately regretted that decision.

Towering over them was a burly man in a black outfit, with a cape and mask designed to resemble the wings and head of a bat, and a yellow oval on the chest with a silhouetted bat painted on. Before either of them could draw their guns, he grabbed them both by the collar and lifted them a foot above the ground.

"Don't kill me!" Bred pleaded. "This wasn't my idea, I swear! It's all Dug's fault! Kill him instead!"

Dug would have glared at Bred if not for the intense fear he was currently experiencing.

"I'm not going to kill _either_ of you." the unknown man said. "But I want you to do me a favor."

"S-sure!" Dug grinned nervously. "Anything!"

"I want you to tell your friends about me." he demanded. "I want you to tell them that Metro City is no longer a safe haven for criminal scum like you two."

"But... But..." Bred stammered. "Who _are_ you?"

The man's glare intensified.

"I'm Batman."

* * *

A/N: I got the idea for this story when I couldn't decide whether to play Batman Returns on SNES or Mighty Final Fight.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mayor Haggar, what's your opinion on this 'Batman'?"

Mike knew that his idea would cause the press to go wild, but he still wasn't ready for _this_.

"Well..." He nervously tugged at his collar. "I'm not really sure what to make of him, but I'm sure I'd be able to form my own opinion if I were to hear what other people had to say about him..."

"Well..." The interviewer brought the microphone from his face to hers. "Commissioner Lucia of the MCPD says that she's hesitant to trust him, but thinks that he should be observed more before the police make any hasty decisions."

"I see." He nodded. "And if you don't mind me asking, what do you think, Miss..."

"Chun-Li." She answered. "I think his presence is a welcome change. Prior to his arrival, Metro City's law enforcement was rather ineffective... No offense..."

"None taken." he said. "...As a matter of fact, I actually find myself agreeing with you, though I can still understand Commissioner Lucia's weariness."

"Yes, I can see where you're coming from." she agreed. "Thank you for your time, Mayor Haggar."

"Thank _you_." He smiled.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a huge-ass problem on our hands." As soon as Belger was sure that everybody was listening, he gestured for his assistant to turn on the projector, causing a very familiar image to appear on the wall. "And that problem is Batman."

The others responded with boos and jeers.

"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes. "But we're not here to say why we hate him. We're here to come up with a way to _stop_ him."

The very suggestion of such an idea was met with several gasps.

"Don't give me that!" he shouted. "It _is_ possible. He's just one man! Now, let's do a head count here... There's me, so we'll start at one hundred, there's Hugo and his brother Andore... They're ten each, so that's 120 so far... We've got their dad, and _his_ brother, and lastly grandpa Andore... So now we're up to 150 and counting. Meanwhile, our big scary enemy is still just one man! And also a bat, I guess, but those are small and fragile. So that's one point one against over a hundred and fifty! What are we all so scared of? We're Mad Gear! We've ruled Metro City for decades now, and one man alone is _not_ gonna stop us! Am I right?"

The rest of the gang responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!"

"That's what I thought." He smirked. "Meeting's over. You can all go back to whatever you were doing. Especially if it's illegal."

* * *

A/N: Gang leaders say that, right?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: "SiFi where have you been?"

* * *

Watching every Nolanverse film. Including Gotham Knight.

If Commissioner Lucia was asked to describe how her week had been, she probably wouldn't have answered. Instead, she would most likely have torn whoever had asked her to shreds.

"So how's your week been?" Batman asked.

Lucia gasped as she turned around to face him. "What do _you_ want?"

"To talk." he answered simply. "Is that a crime?"

"No, but vigilantism is..." She rolled her eyes. "There's an idea. Instead of us having to worry about catching you, why don't you catch yourself?"

"That could work..." he agreed. "The ones you can't catch by yourselves seem to be my specialty."

Lucia grumbled irritably. "If you just give us time, we'll be able to handle things by oursel..."

"This city doesn't have time." Batman retorted. "If Metro City weren't about to tear itself apart from the inside out, I'd be happy to let the police do their job, but as it is, you seem to be the only one on the force who actually _wants_ to do that!"

The commissioner glared dangerously at him. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Take Eddie Eagle for example." he began. "He's not just being paid to stay out of Mad Gear's business. He's being paid to work for them."

Lucia went totally silent.

"I know." he continued. "When I found out, it made me sick too."

"But that doesn't mean it's going to be hard to deal with." She shrugged. "Next time I see him, he's fired."

"If only it were that easy..." Batman sighed. "When Mad Gear finds out, they'll realize you know too much, and they'll have you... Silenced."

"Of course!" She turned around and slammed her hands against her desk in frustration. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Let me handle it." he answered bluntly.

"And what makes you so..." She turned once again, only to find nobody there. "...Special?"

* * *

"Mister Mayor!" Haggar's secretary greeted him with open arms. "It's been almost an hour! Where have you been?"

"Saving the city." He smirked. "I can't let Batman do _all_ the work now, can I?"

"I suppose you can't." She giggled slightly. "Oh! By the way, I thought I heard something break in your office, and I wanted to investigate but the door was locked."

"Thank you." He nodded. "I'll check on that right now." He walked inside and frowned disapprovingly as soon as he noticed that the window was broken, with a video tape lying a few feet away. He inspected it closely as he picked it off the ground.

"A VHS tape..." he muttered. "Do we even have anything that'll play this thing?"

"I think I have just the thing." His secretary departed, returning a few minutes later with a small television set with a slot for VHS tapes underneath the screen. Mike plugged it in and inserted the video.

"Hee hee hee, Mister Mayor..." Although the screen displayed static, a voice could be heard clearly. "We saw your interview with the lovely Chun-Li the other day, and boy were we disappointed! We heard straight from your mouth that you weren't going to do anything about this Batman, and so we've made a decision." The static faded away, revealing a large man with tanned skin, a pair of blue sunglasses, and shoulder-length blond hair. "I, Thrasher, of the Mad Gear gang, am going to... Well, you'll just have to see. Be at the Subway at 3PM tomorrow, and when Batman shows up, we expect you to treat him just as fairly as you'd treat us! Don't hold back now, we've all seen what you're capable of in the ring!" The screen returned to static as he laughed loudly.

In his frustration, Haggar had to resist the urge to break the television.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know the name "Thrasher" was the result of censorship, but to me it sounds more like an actual name than "Damnd".

Also, "We should have him kidnap Jessica!"

"If Jessica existed (yet) in this continuity, you'd have mentioned her during Haggar's backstory in chapter 1."

"Crap, I knew I forgot something."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I've only recently realized: I've never explicitly stated, not even in the story's description, that Mike Haggar is Batman. But he is.

Also, should the Duck King from Fatal Fury be the Penguin?

* * *

Although Thrasher had no idea what he was going to do at the subway when the mayor and Batman arrived, he was already there, and he was excited as hell.

People were already suspicious to see him just waiting there, so when he giggled like a maniac in response to his phone ringing, very few people weren't staring at him.

"What's up?" he answered casually.

"Thrasher, you're a damned idiot." Belger said. "I see you're trying to bait out Batman and Haggar here but... You just haven't put any thought into this."

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan?" Thrasher laughed. "I'm like a dog chasing cars, boss. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just _do_ things."

"I know, Thrasher." He sighed. "That's why I've come up with a plan for you. The train on its way here has a bomb attached. If you can get everyone's valuables before it reaches Axis Chemicals, I won't blow it up."

His laughter grew louder. "Sounds easy enough!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Without warning, the Batman grabbed him from behind and leapt towards the ceiling, rotating Thrasher's body so that his head faced the floor. While spinning wildly, the two of them came crashing down, leaving a dent in the floor.

"Ugh..." Thrasher returned to his feet whilst rubbing his head. "Never start with a guy's head... Makes them all fuzzy... Can't feel the next..."

Haggar punched him in the chest.

"...See?" he finished.

With a frustrated grunt, Batman wrapped an arm around his neck and ran straight into the newly arrived train, bashing his opponent's head against the door on the other side.

"What are you planning?" he demanded.

Thrasher suddenly grinned. "Oh, hey! You've just reminded me." He stood up and produced a handgun. "Give me your valuables! Come on! Guys! Girls! Kids, if you're up to it... I won't force ya..."

Batman grabbed him by the collar, making him drop his gun in the process. "You won't be forcing _any_ of them!"

"And that's the best part of this thing!" He laughed. "If this train doesn't make it to Axis Chemicals with me holding on to everyone's valuables, kaboom!"

"You're bluffing." Haggar frowned.

"I..." He paused to think. "Actually, I don't know if there's really a bomb attached to this thing or now. All I have is the boss's word for it. But still..."

Much to Haggar's annoyance, he laughed again.

"Best not to take the risk, right?"

* * *

A/N: I personally think that Ledger's Joker is overrated, but oh boy I can't stop using his quotes here.


End file.
